The religious leader Naasón Joaquín García, sentenced to more than 16 years in prison in California for sexually abusing young followers, now faces new accusations for conspiracy of organized crime, sexual trafficking and child exploitation, the authorities reported Wednesday.
A federal jury in New York presented the imputation, which indicates that García, 56, along with five other people, used the church for decades to facilitate the systematic sexual abuse of children and women for their own benefit and their father, who died in 2014.
The accusation details that illegal activities included the production of photographs and videos of child sexual abuse. Garcia was put in federal custody this Wednesday in Chino, California, where he serves his sentence of more than 16 years after having declared himself guilty in 2022 of two state positions.
So far, their lawyers have not issued comments.
Garcia is the leader of the light of the world, a congregation that claims to have five million faithful in the world and whose believers recognize him as the “apostle” of Jesus Christ.
According to prosecutors in California, the defendant took advantage of his spiritual influence to maintain sexual relations with young girls and women, convincing them that this would guarantee salvation, or that they would be convicted if they refused.
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In addition to Garcia, one of those indicated was arrested in Los Angeles and another in Chicago, while three remain fugitives, authorities confirmed.
The accusation maintains that two of the defendants, together with others, tried to destroy evidence and prevent victims from collaborating with the authorities after Garcia’s arrest. To do this, they pressed them to sign false statements denying the abuses, they disseminated sermons in which they assured that they all lied and reinforced the doctrine that questioning the apostle was equivalent to a sin that led to eternal condemnation.
In a statement, federal prosecutor Jay Clayton said that Garcia and his accomplices “used the faith of their followers to exploit them” and that, when confronted, they used their religious and financial power “to intimidate and coercion the victims in order to keep them silent.”
For his part, Ricky J. Patel, head of the National Security Research Office in New York, said the positions are the result of “a several years investigation that extended throughout the country and that she had the support of tens of brave victims.”
With agency information
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